Trump’s Opponents Have One Assignment Now
The Robert Mueller investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election embodied the hopes of many Donald Trump critics that defeating the president was possible by disqualifying him personally. Whatever further revelations are contained in Mueller’s full report, Attorney General William Barr’s summary last weekend has already signaled it’s unlikely to be that easy. But, on balance, that’s a good thing for the voices in both parties resisting Trump’s direction for the country. There’s a far better chance of uprooting his influence over the long run if his presidency is ended by the voters, not the courts or Congress.
Trump is such a uniquely galvanizing and polarizing figure, both in his style and his background, that it’s tempting for supporters and opponents alike to imagine that the political movement he has ignited could not exist without him. To that perspective, Trump is the political equivalent of the “one ring” in the books. Eliminate him, and everything he’s built will fall into oblivion, the
